OCSA Blog

Introducing OCSA’s Newest Volunteer, Shaleen Jacobs

We are delighted to introduce you to our newest volunteer, Shaleen Jacobs. We first met Shaleen when she reached out to us in early January of 2016 and now she will represent OCSA in South Africa on World Ovarian Cancer Awareness Day May 8th! She will be distributing OCSA brochures and teal bracelets while sharing the silent symptoms of ovarian cancer with her family, friends and colleagues.

OCSA: Shaleen, welcome to OCSA!! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m 28 years old and I live in a suburb of Capetown, South Africa called Kraaifontein. I graduated from Scottsdene High School in 2006 and I am interested in business economics, psychology, music, art, and graphic design. I was first made aware of ovarian cancer after I had a little scare myself but luckily for me it wasn’t anything serious.

OCSA: Can you tell us how you learned about OCSA and our mission?

At the time that I suspected there might be something wrong, I did a little research and discovered the OCSA Facebook page. I asked a question about the symptoms and learned much about the early signs of ovarian cancer. I also learned that it was important for me to get myself checked out and I did and I am doing alright.

OCSA: Can you tell us what you know about CANSA and how you learned about World Ovarian Cancer Awareness Day on May 8th?

The Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) is a non-profit organization that fight cancer, and offers support to cancer patients. I discovered that CANSA celebrates World Ovarian Cancer day every year on May 8th and I hope to do my part to let people know more about the disease and symptoms.

OCSA: We are thrilled to welcome you as a volunteer to help us spread the word about the silent symptoms of ovarian cancer in South Africa. What, personally, do you hope to accomplish and how can OCSA help you?

Thank you and I’m very excited about volunteering! Coming from a small community I realized that women here (including myself) aren’t educated well enough about the disease…I’m hoping to spread the word about ovarian cancer and make them aware of the disease and the symptoms, early detection can save a life!

ocsablog posted: “We are delighted to introduce you to our newest volunteer, Shaleen Jacobs. We first met Shaleen when she reached out to us in early January of 2016 and now she will represent OCSA in South Africa on World Ovarian Cancer Awareness Day May 8th! She will be”